chicagotribune.com
Joliet's Empress Casino: Fire damages entrance
Firefighters stopped blaze from reaching casino barge
By Steve Schmadeke
Tribune reporter
March 21, 2009
A massive fire Friday destroyed much of the Egyptian-themed entrance building at the Empress Casino in Joliet, sending dark smoke that was visible for miles rising above the two towering pharaohs alongside the front door.
The blaze, which officials said may have been sparked by welders working on a kitchen duct system, started small about 10 a.m. But within hours more than half the city's Fire Department was working to prevent its spread to the casino barge, Fire Chief Joe Formhals said.
No one was injured, and the casino had been evacuated before firefighters arrived, Formhals said. A Joliet paramedic moonlighting at the casino radioed in the fire shortly after it started.
The casino itself seemed to have only minor damage, and Mayor Arthur Schultz said he hoped it would be up and running soon.
Casino officials were waiting for a complete damage estimate from fire officials and did not know when the business would reopen, said Eric Schippers, a spokesman for Penn National Gaming, which runs the Empress and two other Illinois casinos.
Formhals said the building's unusual construction, which includes "void spaces" inside walls and second and third ceilings, may have allowed the blaze to quickly spread past a firewall and kept crews from accurately targeting the fire. He said the city's Building Department will re-examine those aspects of the pavilion's construction in a planned review of the fire.
Ceilings in the ballroom and kitchen collapsed, and the fire destroyed a pyramidlike structure atop the building.
The fire also destroyed a a hospitality area with shops and restaurants in the building, which was undergoing a $50 million renovation, officials said. A two-story office structure that is part of the pavilion appeared to be safe.
Nearly 30 water tankers from various departments rushed 3,000-gallon loads to battle the fire throughout the afternoon.
Ken Mihelich, Joliet's director of management and budget, said the casino brings in about $12 million a year for the city.
"We'll have to see how they bounce back," Mihelich said. "If anyone can, they can."
Schultz said the fallout from the fire likely will have little impact on the city's finances.
The Empress competes with a second Joliet casino, Harrah's, and the pair have been an economic boon for a city that had a crumbling downtown and dim prospects before getting them in the 1990s. Since then, the city has relied on tax revenue from the casinos to pay for a baseball stadium, a library, a water park and other big-ticket items, and has financed social-service providers like Big Brothers Big Sisters and United Cerebral Palsy.
Joliet has grown to become the state's fourth-largest city, with a population of 144,316, according to a special census in 2007.
But gambling revenue has been hit hard by the statewide smoking ban and the economic downturn. Casino revenue plunged about $9 million last year, forcing the city to cut funding for almost all social-service groups that once received money. This year, revenues are still lower than expected and expenses are increasing, so city leaders say they need to cut another $10 million in spending.
Mihelich said he was concerned for casino workers who may face layoffs because of the fire. About 850 people work at the casino.
Joliet's Empress Casino: Fire damages entrance
Firefighters stopped blaze from reaching casino barge
By Steve Schmadeke
Tribune reporter
March 21, 2009
A massive fire Friday destroyed much of the Egyptian-themed entrance building at the Empress Casino in Joliet, sending dark smoke that was visible for miles rising above the two towering pharaohs alongside the front door.
The blaze, which officials said may have been sparked by welders working on a kitchen duct system, started small about 10 a.m. But within hours more than half the city's Fire Department was working to prevent its spread to the casino barge, Fire Chief Joe Formhals said.
No one was injured, and the casino had been evacuated before firefighters arrived, Formhals said. A Joliet paramedic moonlighting at the casino radioed in the fire shortly after it started.
The casino itself seemed to have only minor damage, and Mayor Arthur Schultz said he hoped it would be up and running soon.
Casino officials were waiting for a complete damage estimate from fire officials and did not know when the business would reopen, said Eric Schippers, a spokesman for Penn National Gaming, which runs the Empress and two other Illinois casinos.
Formhals said the building's unusual construction, which includes "void spaces" inside walls and second and third ceilings, may have allowed the blaze to quickly spread past a firewall and kept crews from accurately targeting the fire. He said the city's Building Department will re-examine those aspects of the pavilion's construction in a planned review of the fire.
Ceilings in the ballroom and kitchen collapsed, and the fire destroyed a pyramidlike structure atop the building.
The fire also destroyed a a hospitality area with shops and restaurants in the building, which was undergoing a $50 million renovation, officials said. A two-story office structure that is part of the pavilion appeared to be safe.
Nearly 30 water tankers from various departments rushed 3,000-gallon loads to battle the fire throughout the afternoon.
Ken Mihelich, Joliet's director of management and budget, said the casino brings in about $12 million a year for the city.
"We'll have to see how they bounce back," Mihelich said. "If anyone can, they can."
Schultz said the fallout from the fire likely will have little impact on the city's finances.
The Empress competes with a second Joliet casino, Harrah's, and the pair have been an economic boon for a city that had a crumbling downtown and dim prospects before getting them in the 1990s. Since then, the city has relied on tax revenue from the casinos to pay for a baseball stadium, a library, a water park and other big-ticket items, and has financed social-service providers like Big Brothers Big Sisters and United Cerebral Palsy.
Joliet has grown to become the state's fourth-largest city, with a population of 144,316, according to a special census in 2007.
But gambling revenue has been hit hard by the statewide smoking ban and the economic downturn. Casino revenue plunged about $9 million last year, forcing the city to cut funding for almost all social-service groups that once received money. This year, revenues are still lower than expected and expenses are increasing, so city leaders say they need to cut another $10 million in spending.
Mihelich said he was concerned for casino workers who may face layoffs because of the fire. About 850 people work at the casino.